"I've been a pharmacist for 34 years -- I'm respected. But when I get on my bike, I'm treated in a different way, by law enforcement especially. They think, 'You're a biker -- you're a bad person,' " said Poelker, who praised the Lesters' handling of his case even though they lost in the end.
Having lawyers who understand what riders face has helped chip away at public misperceptions, he added. They have made some inroads in defeating discrimination in what Richard Lester calls "the omelet ingredient belt," the farmland celebrations of California's agricultural plenty from artichokes to zucchini.
This year's Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras refined its ban on insignia to apply only to specific clubs with suspect reputations, like the Hells Angels and Mongols. Under pressure of a lawsuit, the Santa Cruz fair dropped its anti-biker dress code altogether.
In Studio City, biker law specialist Russ Brown has been fighting the riding community's battles for more than 30 years, estimating he's handled 10,000 cases. He, too, now represents a more diverse and economically stratified clientele, pointing to the swelling ranks of riders as aging baby boomers chase youthful abandon by buying big wheels.
"We've got a lot of people going through middle-age crises who are going out and getting motorcycles," said Brown, 74.
Still, the riders most in need of a lawyer's help tend to be the more traditional long-haired, tattooed bikers, whom he coaches to tone down the talk and walk in front of a judge or jury.
"I tell them we wear long sleeves, cover up the tattoos, get a haircut," Brown said of his advice for a court appearance. "Some resist, saying this is who they are and the world has to deal with it. But I tell them, when it's over you can grow your hair to your knees; but if you want to get any money, you better walk in there looking like a human being."
Norman Gregory Fernandez, another Los Angeles-area lawyer representing fellow riders, also laments the bad-boy image many in the legal system have of bikers. He preps clients to tone down the lingo -- she's your wife, not your old lady -- and dress like they're going to church. His own tiger, cobra, eagle and Star of David tattoos aren't visible when he's dressed in a buttoned-down oxford shirt and tie-clasped collar.
The only downside to his job, says the Lester firm's Nazif, is the accumulating evidence that motorcycle accidents can shorten or drastically alter your life.
"It makes me a little paranoid," he said of his mangled clients. "But not enough to keep me off the bike. At least not yet."
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carol.williams@latimes.com
